Beauty and the Cowboy Read Free Page B

Charlie?”
    She shrugged. He caught a weird vibe from her as they walked side-by-side across the planes of the dusty fairground. “I don’t know. We haven’t gotten that far yet.”
    “No? What are you waiting for?”
    “A formal proposal would be nice.” She shoved her hands into her pockets and lifted her chin a little higher as they walked.
    “I heard you went ring shopping last weekend.”
    She stopped and looked at him with her hands on her hips and her head cocked. “I expected more from you, Jesse Guthrie.”
    “What?” His voice had more of an edge than he’d intended, but there she was in her defensive stance, looking like she wanted to argue, and he couldn’t understand why. All he did was ask about Tom.
    “You’re listening to the town gossip? I didn’t take you for the type.”
    He threw his hands up. “I’m talking to you about you, aren’t I? I’m not taking the gossip at face value. Forget it. We don’t have to talk. I was just making conversation.”
    They walked a few steps in silence. Jesse fixed his gaze on Copper Mountain, which loomed strong and silent on the horizon. Finally, Charlotte slanted him a glance. “I’d like to talk about it. Actually, I’d like your advice on something.”
    Advice? That sounded dangerous. He already regretted bringing up the engagement, or the non-engagement, in the first place. Should’ve kept the conversation on business. But she was a friend, and he’d thought wedding talk would be a good conversation.
    His mistake.
    Charlie Morgan hadn’t been like any other girl he’d ever known. He’d never been as comfortable around a woman as he was with her. Then again, she hadn’t been a woman back when they used to hang out. She’d been a girl and he’d been a boy.
    And then life had gotten in the way. What a shame it had had to happen like that. But here she was asking for his advice.
    “I’ll make a deal with you,” he found himself saying before he could think better of it. “I’ll trade you advice for advice.”
    Her eyebrow shot up. “You want my advice about something?”
    He nodded.
    “Okay,” she said. “You go first.”
    They’d reached the fairgrounds’ stage area. There were some folding chairs leaning against the stage wall. He set up two and dusted one off with his handkerchief.
    “I didn’t know men still carried handkerchiefs.”
    He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “You never know when they might come in handy. Here. Have a seat.”
    She complied. “This sounds serious. Is everything okay?”
    “Yeah. Sure.” This was ridiculous, actually.
    He was just about ready to say, Never mind. Instead, he heard himself saying, “It’s Matt. She’s suddenly gone all girly on me. I don’t know what to do with her.”
    A hiccup of laughter escaped Charlotte. Her hand flew to her mouth. She cleared her throat and was suddenly serious.
    “Before you came into the office, she and I were talking, and I noticed how she’s grown up. It’s natural, Jesse. But I can see how it’s hard for you. It has to be hard for her, too, growing up without a feminine influence. She’s a good kid. I’m sure she’ll be just fine. If she needs some girl time, send her to me. We can go shopping or paint our nails. It would be fun.”
    He must’ve not looked convinced, because she said, “Was there something specific? Or is it just her girliness in general that’s bothering you?”
    He wasn’t bothered by her girliness.
    He started to protest, but then realized he was. Sort of. It was just that she was his kid sister.
    “It just seems like I can’t do anything right.” He ran his hand over his face as if he could scrub away the awkwardness of what he was about to say next. It didn’t help. So he just spit it out. “She’s been making noises about being in this pageant you’re running, and I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
    Charlie laughed again. “Why would it not be a good idea? It’s a very conservative pageant. No swimsuit